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Arsenal fans shouldn't overhype Rob Holding

Rob Holding impressed on his Arsenal debut, but there are two words which underline the importance of managing expectation regarding the 20-year-old.

Arsenal fans were left purring over Rob Holding's debut as the Gunners beat MLS All-Stars 2-1 in a pre-season friendly in San Jose in the early hours of Friday morning.

The 20-year-old centre-half joined the North London club in a £2.5 million deal from Bolton Wanderers last week, those figures reported by The Daily Mail.

And Arsenal supporters were mightily impressed by the youngster's confident performance after playing the full 90 minutes.

But two simple words should illustrate the pitfalls in supporters' hyping up a young player during a pre-season friendly: Yaya Sanogo.

Two summers ago, Sanogo, a Bosman signing from Auxerre in 2013, starred in the Emirates Cup by netting four times against Benfica to excite Arsenal fans over his potential.

Fast forward two years and the 23-year-old has netted five times in 33 competitive outings for Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Ajax and Charlton Athletic since then - three of those coming after his hat-trick during a loan spell with the Addicks last season.

Sanogo is back at Arsenal but the French striker was not named in Arsene Wenger's 23-man squad for the trip to the United States, nor is he injured.

Holding may or may not be the real deal, but friendlies like this - especially against markedly inferior opposition - offer no indication as to whether a young player will make it at Arsenal. Just ask Sanogo, if you can find him.

Shane Callaghan

Shane is a Dublin-based sports writer who swapped the football pitch for the press box upon learning that he was better with a pen than with a round bit of leather. Prior to joining HITC, Shane enjoyed spells with Sports Mole and Goal.com among others, while he was also club reporter for Irish football club Drogheda United.